Fans of the Carolina Hurricanes have been waiting at the edge of their collective seats for some kind of news about the trade situation. News came out on Wednesday afternoon, but it was miles away from anything close to what fans were waiting for.

The Hurricanes triumphantly announced first that forward Elias Lindholm was cleared to play in the World Juniors Championships, representing his home country of Sweden. This is pretty cool for everybody who is Lindholm or his family and Swedish teammates. Everyone enjoys representing their country in international competition. In fact, this is why the NHL is taking a break in February for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. While Lindholm may not have enough time under his breezer for Olympic hockey, he gets to play for Sweden on an international stage.

Cool story, bro. Now tell us what’s being done about the power play.

Anything about Lindholm going to Sweden is basically white noise to cover up the elephant in the room which is the fact that Lindholm will be out of the lineup until January 5. In case nobody’s noticed, the Hurricanes need a little offense these days. Lindholm is shooting at 27.3 percent, which is the best on the team. He’s putting points on the board — maybe not as prodigiously as others, but points are points. If Carolina refuses to bring on any new talent then they’re going to need all hands on deck. Have fun in Sweden, son.

Speaking of talent, the Hurricanes also announced they agreed to terms with some fourth-round pick nobody ever heard of named Trevor Carrick. This is another piece of huge news to Carrick and anyone to whom he owes money. An entry-level contract is pretty cool, and he’ll enjoy playing for the Charlotte Checkers and maybe one day get that phone call to pack for Raleigh.

Good job, Carrick — you’re moving on up. Now what about the power play?

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford is a bit of an enigma — which is a more than fair understatement. While the team had an embarrassing road trip out west and the goaltending situation is getting cloudier and cloudier by the day, Rutherford is signing fourth rounders and sending active players to Sweden. There may or may not be something big waiting in the wings, but if this is what Rutherford has been spending the week with then the inmates are truly running the asylum.

Nobody wants to hear about the WJC, and nobody wants to hear about Carrick and his nice little contract. When these things pop up on Twitter or in someones RSS Feed, all it does is take up bandwidth and time that could more easily be spent telling them when and to whom Tim Gleason is being traded and why the team is still carrying three goalies.

Fans are staying tuned. It’s time for some good news from the front office.

Michael Peckerar is a Hurricanes writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @peckrants, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.